Manger Scenes & Other Christmas Displays Banned in Santa Monica

by:

Kathryn E. Darden

Santa Monica, CA

Nov 19, 2012

What is it with California? Continuing the new California tradition of persecuting Christians and churches, Santa Monica, Calif. now has a ban on the 6-decade-old tradition of Christmas displays and manger scenes in Palisades Park.

Manger scenes have delighted children of all ages for hundred of years, and the annual Santa Monica Nativity Scenes event dates back to 1953. Booths with displays that tell the Christmas story have been displayed every year in Palisades Park in December. However, recently the city decided to ban nativity displays in the park, apparently egged on by those intolerant of the Christian religion who had attempted to disrupt the displays in the past.

On Monday, a federal court ruled in favor the city’s ban on the Christmas displays.

The Nativity Scene Committee (NSC), made up of Santa Monica churches and the Santa Monica Police Officers Association, has filed a lawsuit against the city to bring the nearly 60-year-old Christmas tradition back to Palisades Park. The hearing to dismiss the case will be held Dec. 3.